Your Hive Tool is your Best Friend.......

Tools of the Trade........

Hive tool, bobby pins and a Heavy Duty Stapler

While waiting for my 2 Nucs from my local bee supplier.....I spent most of April doing the prep work......This meant spending my extra time putting together my hives, frames and everything else that went along with bee keeping.......Me and the hubby took advantage of some rainy weekend afternoons to put together my deeps, mediums, frames and installing wax foundation in the frames.....

Luckily.....my hubby is in the construction business.....so I had access to a variety of tools such as a nail gun and a stapler.....but I found that the hive tool was my best friend.....it was perfect for popping the wedge top off the frames, scraping extra wood stuck from the wedge.....it was great for hammering the bobby pins into the sides to support the wax foundation.....and of course it's what you need to be inside of a bee hive.....

Medium Frames waiting to be put together

Hive tool popping out the wedge

Finished  frame with wax foundation

At first we were going to make the deeps and medium boxes but when we got to looking at lumber prices....sadly.....it was cheaper to buy the boxes in cypress from a bee supplier than to make them ourselves out of cheap whiteboard (pine).  I wasn't planning on that but it was the case for us. So we ended up buying our hive bodies, medium boxes and medium frames from a  bee supply company out of Georgia....Rossman Aparies.....

So.....after ordering all of the stuff I needed........This is what my living room looked like after I got three boxes from Rossman......plus all of the other supplies that I had picked up from the State Bee Convention.....goodbye tax return checks....yep I said "check(s)".  This is not a cheap hobby to get into and it's why more retirees are involved than working full time folks with younger kids like me... I kinda knew that but with all hobbies....there is some kind of start up cost and hopefully we will get a decent return on beekeeping.....well....at least a sweet return :)

However.....my youngest was more than happy to play in the empty boxes when we got everything together.....

Cardboard boxes make the best lounging areas

My bee boxes put together before we painted them

Easter Eggs Anyone?

It was right before Easter and we finally got around to painting the wooden ware.   I allowed my two daughters to pick out the colors.......Elisabeth my youngest picked out "Sassy Lilac"......for "her hive" and my oldest daughter picked "Crystal Aqua"...... We joked that these were big Easter eggs that held bees instead of candy......

Of course....the weather was unpredictable again....winter wanted to reclaim itself but some sunny afternoons finally came our way so we could paint and let the woodenware dry outside......

My sweet hubby painting the screened bottom board.....

Taking advantage of a sunny afternoon

Caroline's hive components.....

While we were doing all of the prep work.....I got the word from my local bee supplier that he needed my bee boxes.   We met him and dropped off the two hive bodies with him so he could take them to his farm where he keeps his bees.   Needless to say....my hive bodies were the brightest and prettiest ones around that afternoon.  There was no denying my hives when we loaded up his trailer with other potential bee keeper's nuc boxes and hives.  And thus the waiting game till our bees would arrive began......